Atlanta Civic Center development open for bids

Calling all developers: The Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center is officially up for bid.

Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency, released a long-awaited request for proposal on Thursday to redevelop the aging performance arts center in the Old Fourth Ward area.

Mayor Kasim Reed announced in April plans to sell the nearly 20-acre property. It’s one of several city assets, including Underground Atlanta, that the mayor has opted to sell this year in a move to free up cash to help fund an anticipated infrastructure bond referendum in March. A 2012 study of the property anticipated it was on track to lose $400,000 annually through 2017. Releasing the property to the private sector would generate new property tax revenue.

In an interview with The AJC earlier this year, Reed said he envisions nothing short of “iconic” on the site. According to the RFP released Thursday, the city’s primary goal is to revamp the property “into an active center for job-generating, tax-paying activity.”